Adventures in Baking: Apple Crisp

In the spirit of “mo’ money Movember,” I am trying to make sure we make good use of everything we have in our pantry before buying any new ingredients. So when I found two sad, bruised, tired-looking apples that I bought before we left for our big trip, I decided to do the impossible: bake.

Most people don’t need a recipe to make an apple (or any kind of fruit) crisp. And yet, since baking generally takes a lot more precision, I decided to turn to food guru Mark Bittman for his thoughts on the best apple crisp. Spoiler: somehow I managed not to follow the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the fruit with half the cinnamon, the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon brown sugar and spread the mixture in a 9-inch pan (I went with an 8-in round; I think that was slightly too small, and definitely too small if you have more than two apples.)

Combine all the other ingredients (including the rest of the cinnamon and the sugar) in a food processor and pulse until the butter is incorporated (but not soft, just nice and mixed around).

Spread the topping over the apples and bake 30-40 minutes, until the topping is browned.

Serve with ice cream!

less crisp, more mush. but still tasty!

The Verdict:

Welp, another baking not-quite-hit. It started with my lack of apples, I think, compounded by my refusal to peel them. Accordingly, I should have used more oatmeal, maybe a bit more flour, and less sugar…and then we may have had more of a crisp than a mush situation. However, neither of us are complaining: it was still delish! We’ll be trying this one again, with a few modifications. Maybe next time with pears?